title: NIH EXAMINER: conceptualization and development of an executive function battery.
abstract: Executive functioning is widely targeted when human cognition is assessed, but there is little consensus on how it should be operationalized and measured. Recognizing the difficulties associated with establishing standard operational definitions of executive functioning, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke entered into a contract with the University of California-San Francisco to develop psychometrically robust executive measurement tools that would be accepted by the neurology clinical trials and clinical research communities. This effort, entitled Executive Abilities: Measures and Instruments for Neurobehavioral Evaluation and Research (EXAMINER), resulted in a series of tasks targeting working memory, inhibition, set shifting, fluency, insight, planning, social cognition and behavior. We describe battery conceptualization and development, data collection, scale construction based on item response theory, and lay the foundation for studying the battery's utility and validity for specific assessment and research goals.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Joel H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, California.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mungas
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Possin
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Katherine P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Rankin
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Adam L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Boxer
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Howard J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bostrom
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berhel
authors.affiliation: 3 Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Widmeyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult